GOODBYE, EASTERN EUROPE

An epic history of Eastern Europe, from pagan days to an uncertain future.

Eastern Europe is a great arc of countries stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea, although the names and number of them have varied over time. Indeed, some of the most striking parts of this book are the maps, which show how the boundaries within the region have changed over time. Mikanowski, a Portland, Oregon–based journalist, has traveled much of the territory, seeking traces of his half-Catholic, half-Jewish ancestry. The author covers centuries of empires rising and falling, pogroms and invasions, brutal dictators and snatches of artistic beauty. Most of the countries that currently exist were stitched together as geopolitical compromises, with the crosscutting cleavages of separate faiths, languages, and ethnic backgrounds. With so much history, the book could have easily become a dark, unwieldy canvas, but Mikanowski adds stories and personal anecdotes, many of them involving his own family, to provide a sense of balance. “This book is not a family history,” he writes, “but my family history forms a braid running through it…my ancestors are at the root of everything I write.” The author also delivers a few jokes along the way—e.g., “Eastern Europeans share one legacy in common, and that is a gift for seeing comedy in tragedy.” The nadir was the Nazi era of occupation, although the Stalin period often rivaled the Nazi horrors. The collapse of the Soviet Union presaged a period of economic hardship, which slowly dissipated as capitalism took root. Mikanowski is not sure where the region is heading, but he asks the world to acknowledge its diversity and potential, and he proves to be a capable guide to countries and cultures that many readers may have never encountered.

An informative study of a part of the world too often ignored, told with vigor, color, and authority.